29 May 2006
Dear Faculty Representative
Thank you for your Registration Form indicating your University’s desire to participate in this year’s African Human Rights Moot Court Competition in late August 2006. We are delighted that you plan to send a team and wish you well in your preparations. 70 faculties from 30 African countries have registered to participate, and there are positive indications that the proud history of the successful organisation of this annual event is set to continue.
Prominent international jurists have been invited to sit as judges in the final round, including judges of the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and members of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights. Of these, a number have already agreed, including Ms Julia Joiner, Commissioner for Political Affairs of the African Union.
The preliminary rounds will be held on the campus of Addis Ababa University, and the final round will take place in the Plenary Hall of the African Union. All participants will stay in hotels in Addis Ababa. As you know, the Moot is covered on http://www.chr.up.ac.za You will also find comprehensive information on human rights law in Africa on the website, including the African Human Rights Law Reports, which your team is encouraged to use in their preparations and in their memorials.
This letter contains other important information, which you are urged to read carefully.
1. TEAM REGISTRATION
The deadline for submission of names, by way of individual registration forms, is 31 May 2006. Please complete 3 forms, one for the faculty representative and one for each student. Please complete, sign and return these to the organisers if you have not already done so. Teams will only be registered upon receipt of a form signed by each participant (students and faculty representative). Unsigned forms will not be accepted.
Please fax them to: +27 866 88 71 11
Or e-mail them to: .za
2. CLARIFICATION OF HYPOTHETICAL CASE
According to Rule 13, participants may submit written requests for clarification of points in the problem which are manifestly unclear and which must be clarified in order for the participants to develop their pleadings. Requests for clarification must be received by the Steering Committee no later than 30 June 2006. Clarifications will be made available to all participants before 15 July 2006. The onus is on each team to establish, before the competition, whether there has been any such clarification or alteration.
3. MEMORIALS
Team memorials must reach the organisers no later than 31 July 2005, as memorials will be marked prior to the competition, during the month of August, by a panel established by the Steering Committee in accordance with Rule 6.
Please respect the following rules when submitting memorials:
· Memorials may only be submitted by email.
· Each memorial must be submitted as one typed document: the cover page, table of contents and the body of the memorial must all be contained in one MS-Word document.
· Each team is required to submit eight (8) hard copies of each memorial to the organisers when they register in Addis Ababa on 28 August 2006.
4. CONFERENCE
A one-day conference on human rights in Africa will be held on Friday 1 September. Attendance by all students and Faculty Representatives is required. Faculty Representatives are encouraged to present papers at the conference. They are kindly reminded, should they wish to present a paper, to submit an abstract by 30 June 2006 and the paper itself by 31 July 2006 to allow time for translation. Only papers submitted by 31 July 2006 will be considered for publication in the second issue (of 2006) of the African Human Rights Law Journal devoted to the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the African Charter.
5. FUNDING
While the organisers have been successful again in securing some funding for this year’s Moot competition, we have not raised enough money to cover teams’ travel or participation fees. We encourage you to raise funds to ensure the participation of your university. We are willing to assist you by pointing you in the right direction and providing you with a letter of introduction/support.
South African faculties are encouraged to approach the Attorneys’ Fidelity Fund which has supported their participation at the Moot in the past.
5.1 Air ticket
As in previous years, the organisers have arranged a group flight for all participants from South Africa and the rest of the (Southern African) sub-region. As usual, these participants will have to make their own way to Johannesburg International Airport. The detailed itinerary is as follows:
Route: Johannesburg – Addis Ababa
Date: Sunday 27 August 2006
Flight: ET 808
Departure: 14:50
Arrivals: 21:50
Route: Addis Ababa – Johannesburg
Date: Sunday 3 September 2006
Flight: ET 809
Departure: 09:00
Arrivals: 13:15
The cost of a return air ticket on the group flight is as follows:
Basic fare: R4,725.00 (US$787.50)
Taxes: R 646.00 (US$107.50)
Total: R5,371.00 (US$895.00)
All bookings and payment for the group flight should be done through the organisers at the Centre for Human Rights. Please note that this is an unscheduled flight as Ethiopian Airlines does not fly between Johannesburg and Addis Ababa on Sunday. No travel agent will therefore be able to assist you.
5.1.1 Break-aways
Ethiopian Airlines will not allow any break-aways from the group flight on the outbound journey. All participants must travel together from Johannesburg to Addis Ababa on 27 August 2006.
The organisers have, however, negotiated for a maximum of 20 participants from the group to break away on the return journey, at no extra cost, and return on Wednesday 6 September 2006. The break-away places will be given out on a first come first serve basis but priority will be given to participants attending the IIMCR Seminar on Negotiation and Mediation which will be held from 3 to 5 September 2006 in Addis Ababa. All costs, including accommodation and meals, beyond the departure of the group flight on 3 September 2006, will be at the expense of the break-away participants. This does not apply to participants in the IIMCR Seminar.
5.1.2 Accommodation
Participants will be accommodated in hotels in Addis Ababa: students in shared double rooms and faculty representatives in single rooms.
5.1.3 Registration fee
Registration fees of R5,629.00 (US$900) per student and R7,329.00 (US$ 1,200) per faculty representative are payable to cover all other costs.
5.1.4 Travel insurance
Participants must take out their own travel insurance. It is recommended that such a policy cover both health and luggage.
6. PAYMENT
The cost breakdown per team is as follows:
Participants from South Africa and the Southern African region (travelling on group flight):
STUDENT 1 / STUDENT 2 / FAC. REP. / TOTALZAR / USD / ZAR / USD / ZAR / USD / ZAR / USD
AIR TICKET / 5,371.00 / 895.00 / 5,371.00 / 895.00 / 5,371.00 / 895.00 / 16,113.00 / 2,685.00
REGISTRATION / 5,629.00 / 900.00 / 5,629.00 / 900.00 / 7,329.00 / 1,200.00 / 18,587.00 / 3,000.00
TOTAL / 11,000.00 / 1,895.00 / 11,000.00 / 1,795.00 / 12,700.00 / 2,095.00 / 34,700.00 / 5,685.00
Other participants from the rest of Africa (not travelling on the group flight):
AIR TICKET / Please establish / Please establish / Please establish / Please establish
REGISTRATION / US$900.00 / US$900.00 / US$1,200.00 / US$3,000.00
These fees must be deposited into the following bank account by 31 July 2006:
Name: University of Pretoria
Bank: ABSA
Account number: 214 00000 38
Branch name: Hatfield, Pretoria
Branch address: PO Box 11267 Brooklyn, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa
Branch code: 33554515
Sort code: 335545
SWIFT code: ABSA ZA JJ CPT
Please fax a copy of the deposit slip to +27 866 88 71 11.
Or email it to to enable us to trace the money.
Seats on the group flight and hotel rooms in Addis Ababa will only be confirmed once we have received a copy of the deposit slip.
7. PASSPORTS AND VISAS
We remind you that it is your responsibility to obtain a passport and a visitor’s visa to enter Ethiopia, if necessary, and encourage you to apply for same as early as possible. If you do not have an Ethiopian Embassy in your country, please let us know as soon as possible. We will advise you of alternative arrangements.
In its 15th consecutive year, the Moot promises, once again, to be an exciting opportunity to forge new networks and consolidate existing ones. Addis Ababa, the seat of the African Union, is an excellent venue for Africa’s largest gathering around the theme of human rights in the year which marks the 20th anniversary of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
We look forward to seeing you in Addis.
Sincerely
______
(PROF) CHRISTOF HEYNS NORMAN TAKU
Director: Centre for Human Rights Moot Co-ordinator
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